


Spirited Away

by Fai_Gensou



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fae, Gen, Kidnapping?, fae!mando'ade, if you agree to go is it truly kidnapping?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:53:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27014590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fai_Gensou/pseuds/Fai_Gensou
Summary: There is a door, somewhere in the Room of a Thousand Fountains.It can not be searched for with intent.It can not be tracked, or blocked.It shall appear only to those who have need of what it offers.Obi-wan feels so alone after his return from Melida/Daan. Thus, he has to choose.
Comments: 36
Kudos: 269





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm blaming Discord. 
> 
> Tags to be Updated as story updates. Will it continue? Probably. Do I know what I'm planning? Not really beyond Jango/Obi-wan someday.

“I already know your approval is something I can never gain Master Jinn.” Obi-wan couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. “I am freshly returned from a civil war where five year olds took up blasters against their own parents, because they refused to continue the war that has consumed their world. I have not become so jaded with the galaxy as to just do nothing when younglings are in danger. The notion of not doing everything in my power to help is not one I entertain. Just as I do not entertain the concept of you ever expressing approval in me.”

Having started divulging some of the things that floated in his head, there were a million other things Obi-wan could have added.

You made me pick between two choices and you are upset I did not pick you.

The only way I can ever have your approval is if I could turn myself into the Xanatos you lost.

If you are what a Jedi should be, then the crèche masters are lying to us about the Jedi are.

But he said none of those things.

All he said was, “You should have let me blow myself up for you in the mines, Master Jinn. Then you wouldn’t be stuck with a pathetic life form you cannot pass off into someone else’s care.”

Not bothering to bow to any of the adults staring at him, he turned and walked away, deeper into the Room of a Thousand Fountains.

If his heart broke, just a little, at how no one called out to him or chased after him…

…by their standards he wasn’t a Jedi at all, so it didn’t matter.

* * *

There was a door somewhere in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. It was a door in only the loosest meaning of the word, but ‘door’ is still the easiest way to describe it. It cannot be deliberately sought, nor tracked, nor marked, nor blocked.

It is a door to Manda’yaim. Not the Manda’yaim of the sentient plane, but the Manda’yaim of the Pru’ade. These were the Mando’ade out of Jedi legends, the ones who are the bogeymen of the crèche, slaughtering Jedi after driving them mad.

There is but one way to find this door.

* * *

(Obi-wan had found the door once before, when he was first brought to the Jedi. He had been found curled up asleep, and was carefully returned to the crèche. At three, he was too young even by the morals of the Pru’ade to make such a choice.)

* * *

Obi-wan didn’t recognize the area of the Room he had wandered into. He didn’t pretend to be familiar with every subsection of the Room, but normally he could spot a recognizable landmark. Dipping below a swath of creeping flowers hanging off a branch, he found a spot he recognized, for all he couldn’t place what it was that he recognized.

Carefully walking forward, a figure appears between one step and the next. Like all Jedi younglings, he knew the figure was a Pru’ade, but unlike the tales that spoke of bloodlust and terror and predator, there was a sense of…peace…about the figure. Edging closer, Obi-wan noticed that as he got closer, the feeling of peace changed, into one he hadn’t felt since he left the Temple for Bandomeer.

Safety.

It suddenly hit him that he was going in to actually hug the Pru’ad, and before he could think of changing his mind he was hugging onto the Pru’ad with all he had. The armor under his hands didn’t feel like armor; no, this felt like…

_**…softblanketswarmsunshinespecialtreats…** _

Obi-wan hid his face in the figure’s chest as he began sobbing, giving voice to all the loneliness, pain, and grief he’d been keeping inside, despite all his efforts to release it into the Force. The figure hugged him back, picking him up to hold him like he was a youngling, despite being almost fourteen. A hand rubbed his back, a noise like purring echoing through his body, and Obi-wan’s sobs slowed and stopped as he fell asleep.

* * *

_Obi-wan felt like he was floating, head in a lap with his hair being stroked. “You fell asleep before I could ask you.” A voice rumbled in his head._

_“Ask me what?”_

_“If you want to stay in the Temple or come with me.”_

_“I don’t think I can stay…but I know I was meant to be a Jedi.” He replied._

_“I could train you to be a mando’ad jetii.” Obi-wan’s breath caught._

_There was only one Mandalorian Jedi. “You’re…and fae…?”_

_“What matters more is not the name applied to what you are, but to your state of being. Belonging to the Jedi Order was not meant to be the only way to be a Jedi. The state of the Jedi at the current time disgraces the Jedi of old.”_

_Obi-wan thought briefly of his friends, but they hadn’t tried following him or calling out to him. Could he truly spend his life surrounded by those who think he crawled back to the Order out of desperation?_

_“…please teach me to be the next Mandalorian Jedi, Master Vizsla.” He decided._

_“ **Ni kyr’tayl gai sa’ad** , Obi-wan Kenobi. I would greatly prefer it if you called be ‘buir’.”_

* * *

Back in the Temple, in a chamber near the Room of a Thousand Fountain, where the adults had adjourned so to not argue in front of younglings, Mace Windu’s eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fainted, mid-sentence in scolding Qui-gon Jinn because it should be mentioned when a youngling offers to commit suicide for you Jinn—

As the others flurried into activity, Yoda’s ears drooped as he realized what had happened. _Too old, I am, for things such as this…_


	2. Chapter 2

“What just happened?” Depa asked, wiping the trickle of blood from her former Master’s nose.

“Our discussion wasn’t that bad.” Qui-gon defended. “I think.”

“Spirited away, young Kenobi has been.” Yoda declared, feeling the weight of his years,

Everyone knew what he meant. “How could Mandalorians spirit away a Jedi youngling from the Temple?!” Qui-gon exclaimed. Given his former master’s encounter with Mandalorians at Galidraan, he felt justifiably concerned. “Could they be connected to the bombings as well? With all of it revenge for Galidraan?”

“The unwilling, they do not take.” Yoda countered. “No…failed completely young Kenobi, the Jedi have, and so opened for him, the door to Pru’yaim did.”

“How could such a thing open here?” Plo asked.

“Always been here, the door has. Room of a Thousand Fountains, to appear only to those in need of it.” Yoda sighed. “Last opened, four hundred some years ago. Raped repeatedly, a padawan was by xer master. Only one to remember xer, I am. Just like now.”

Those assembled were quiet as healers ferried Mace to the Halls. “So that’s it? We just let the Mandalorians keep this Kenobi?” Qui-gon questioned. It bothered him to just let this youngling be taken without a fight.

Yoda felt a spark of anger. If Qui-gon had acted as a master should towards young Obi-wan, then they wouldn’t be having this discussion. Given his determination to be a Jedi, he knew Obi-wan would not have left the Order for a ‘crush’.

But it was too late now. Qui-gon could not remember how events had transpired, and the reports filed in the Archives would surely be of no help. Lashing out, Yoda’s gimmer stick hit Qui-gon’s shins. “Let it go, you must! Folly, it would be!” He scolded, hobbling away to sit at Mace’s bedside until he awoke.

He’d need to keep an extra eye on Qui-gon. “Order to mind healers, I should.” Yoda grumbled.

He wouldn’t though. It was hard enough to nail the man down to the Temple in the first place. Even in the time he had had Obi-wan, they had only been in the Temple for about a month all together.

As he had yet to injure someone unduly, it was up to Qui-gon to get help.

He would need to meditate on this.

(A phantom fell into step next to him. Dressed in the full robes of a Jedi Councilor, Jedi Master Obi-wan Kenobi was visible only briefly before he vanished.)

* * *

Obi-wan didn’t want to wake up.

It felt like he was sleeping in soft clouds surrounded by silk, weighed down just enough to make him feel safe and keeping him at the perfect temperature.

But he was hungry.

This was not, actually, an unusual state of affairs. What was unusual was his desire to correct the situation.

Opening his eyes, he found himself hugging a body-sized stuffed loth cat, the blankets tucked in around him. Sitting up, he surveyed the room he was in.

He definitely wasn’t in the Temple anymore. Wherever he was, it looked out over training grounds, rolling grasslands continuing past the horizon beyond the wall of the location he was in. He thought the designs of the things around him was Mandalorian, but he couldn’t be sure. He’d been scolded so much for being angry that he’d thought it unwise to betray too great an interest in the Jedi’s traditional enemies, given how aggressive they were.

A knock on the door preceded it opening. It was the figure he’d met in the Room of a Thousand Fountains, helmet hanging off the belt. “You slept for so long, I was beginning to worry.” The figure said. Obi-wan thought the figure was male, and looked more than a little like the pictures he’d seen of the Taung.

“Where…” He trailed off as he remembered his dream. “This is…Shadow Mandalore?” He asked.

“Elek. We are on Pru’manda’yaim.” Master…Tarre (he wasn’t sure about calling him buir) confirmed, walking in and sitting on the edge of the bed. He picked up Obi-wan’s unbraided padawan braid, letting it slide through his fingers. “The beads you had are on the side table, if there’s any you want to keep.”

Obi-wan opened his mouth, wanting to ask why (why was he here, why did Master Tarre agree to teach him, so many whys), but his stomach growled loudly, making him blush.  
Master Tarre ruffled his hair, a gesture of affection that left him stiffening yet leaning into it. “You’ve got some growing to catch up on, so let’s get some food in you and I’ll answer your questions.”

* * *

Obi-wan’s food was bland, while Master Tarre’s was spicy enough to tickle his nose several feet away. “Remember to take it slow; you need to get used to eating regularly again.” Master Tarre reminded him.

It was just some kind of soup with bread and butter, but it tasted delicious. “It’s strange…I feel like eating.” Obi-wan commented, sipping something that tasted like blue milk, but was white instead.

“Your body’s changing. Even if you don’t lose mass changing to pru’ad, you’re still burning energy. Plus,” Here Master Tarre scowled. “Your old master broke the training bond between you by basically sawing it in half, leaving it rough and raw in the force. Add in the low-level hostility you’d been exposed to, your appetite was shot.”

“Hostility?” Obi-wan blinked. “But Master Jinn usually shielded the bond unless he had not to…”

“The two of you had a Force-created bond. Not necessarily a training bond, but the two of you had a bond nonetheless. But Jinn, who had been harassed by Yoda about taking another padawan, was subconsciously radiating hostility at you. Even after accepting you as his student, his subconscious still resented being forced into the situation and the hostility continued. As he wasn’t aware of it, he couldn’t shield it. It was so low that he might not have been able to shield it even if he had been aware of it. Then, when you chose to stay on Melida/Daan, he was distracted with his friend, even when he should have been devoting his complete attention to severing your bond. The Force was not in favor of that, so he had to force the severing. Which was extremely irresponsible of him.”

“That’s why the Force felt strange after he left?” Obi-wan asked quietly. He wished he could have been surprised at what Master Tarre had told him, but… _I’m not Xanatos, of course he was hostile._

“Severing a Force-driven bond as he did could have permanently damaged your ability to use the Force. You did not have the training to compensate for what he was doing, even if you had known about what he did. The disparity in training between the two of you meant you would bear the brunt of the consequences if unprepared.” Master Tarre stabbed his meat with his fork as though he wished it was Master Jinn he was stabbing, making Obi-wan side-eye him.

Obi-wan frowned down at his bowl. “I know I’ve eaten…but the bowl doesn’t look any emptier…”

“The yaim’s decided you need to eat more, even though it’s better at the moment to eat smaller, more frequent meals.” Master Tarre explained. “It’ll be fine if you leave it. The dishes keep everything in an ideal state, so you can come back to your food hours later and not have to worry about temperature or texture.” He stood. “If you’re finished, I’ll formalize our training bond, if you like. If you’d prefer to wait, we can head to the salle so you can pick out a ‘saber.”

“Just like that?” He couldn’t quite keep the waver out of his voice.

“Well they’re training sabers; we need to wait for things to align to go to Ilum…” Master Tarre trailed off, wrapping Obi-wan in a hug.

The armor felt like it did back in the Temple, soft and warm. “Just let it all out. Sometimes all one can do is cry. You’re still releasing your emotions.” He said gently, carrying Obi-wan to a lounger.

There was something in his throat, and he couldn’t swallow it back down. “You really want me?” He whispered, curling up as much as he could.

“Yes. I know you don’t believe me right now, but I promise you, I will train you and raise you as my own.” Master Tarre wrapped him up with his Force presence, letting Obi-wan silently cry onto his armor.

Some time later Obi-wan pushed himself up, wiping at his eyes. “Can…can we go to the salle and practice?” He asked.

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't want to make this a bash-Jinn story, since it's so easy to fall into that sand pit, but he has a lot of hang-ups, and no one is willing to pull him to mind healers kicking and screaming unless he deliberately hurts someone in the Temple. Healthy? No. But Yoda's growing fed up with him, especially since Obi-wan is now rather permanently beyond their reach. 
> 
> And I think Jinn's problem is that for all that he's 'live in the moment', he spends a lot of time wanting what he can't have. If he must have a padawan, he wants Xanatos back. The 'live in the moment', at present, is him bullshitting his way through life and avoiding consequences.
> 
> I swear this is meant to be more coherent, but it's after midnight after a long week.


End file.
